The Bartlett Police Department (BPD) handled the following incidents during April 25-May 2. This listing includes the most notable incidents for the reporting period and does not necessarily reflect all police activity.
Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and values are estimated for stolen/damaged items. These are brief summaries of detailed BPD reports.
April 25
Shadow Brook Drive (residential burglary)
A deadbolt slowed down but didn’t stop a determined home burglar on April 25.
A Bartlett couple said someone pried and damaged their front door lock ($20) but couldn’t gain entry there because the deadbolt was secured. The intruder then broke the front bedroom window ($200).
Items taken included a Wheelwood rear wheel brake kit ($1,500) and a nearly full coin container ($100).
April 26
Old Brownsville Road (motor vehicle theft)
A man said his 2002 Nissan Altima was missing when he returned home at 1:10 p.m. April 26. He last saw the car at 5:30 a.m. the previous morning. The car windows were left partially opened for ventilation.
The car’s information was entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.
Ellis Road (suspicious circumstances)
A homeowner who wasn’t expecting any repairmen or other visitors on April 26 reported an unknown Hispanic male who pulled a small white truck into his driveway.
The suspect told the responding officer he was there for a DirecTV work order, but he couldn’t provide proper identification or the work order. The suspect then left the property.
Stage Road (vandalism)
Three window panes at Mid-South Dermatology were pierced with what appeared to be bullet or pellet holes earlier last month (April 11), facing Stage Road.
An employee found three more damaged windows on April 25 and reported the damage the next day. Those windows were made of safety glass and were splintered through the entire windows with similar small bullet holes near the bottom.
Bartlett Boulevard (possession of stolen property)
A patrol officer pulled over the driver of a silver Toyota Corolla just before 1 a.m. on April 28 for traffic violations and uncovered a larger crime.
The driver turned westbound onto Bartlett Road from Bartlett Boulevard, made a U-turn on Bartlett Road to head back east toward Bartlett Boulevard and blew through a stop sign. At the traffic stop, the driver didn’t have a driver’s license but gave her last name and date of birth. The passenger provided her Tennessee driver’s license.
A check of the vehicle showed it was stolen from Hertz Rental Cars in Memphis ($13,207). The officer arrested the two women without incident.
April 30
Raner Cove (stolen motor vehicle)
When OnStar Corporation used a GPS system on April 30 to locate a stolen car, a Bartlett Police officer went to the spot on Raner Cove and found the gray 2016 Chevrolet Sonic in a home’s driveway. The car had been reported stolen about two and a half hours earlier. It had no apparent damage.
The homeowner said it belonged to a man who arrived that morning, and the man returned to the house to speak with the officer. The man waived his Miranda Rights and said he got the car in Memphis from a man he only knows by his first name. The suspect is a black male about 60 years old.
He had loaned the suspect about $110 on April 28 to buy crack cocaine with the understanding the money would be repaid the next day. But the suspect couldn’t withdraw any cash from his ATM the next day, so he handed over his car keys as collateral. The suspect was using crack and had plans to visit a female prostitute, so the two agreed to meet up later for the loan repayment.
The man who held the car for collateral was arrested for possession of stolen property with a value greater than $500. East Memphis Wrecker towed the vehicle to the Memphis Police Department’s impound lot.
May 2
Avi Drive (residential burglary)
A burglar took a gray Amana residential heating unit ($1,500) from a home under construction on Avi Drive sometime between April 20 and 28. A superintendent for Grant Homes reported the theft on May 2.
Maher Trail (residential burglary)
An intruder pried at a home’s back door on Maher Trail but wasn’t able to break in, the victim reported on May 2.
Yates Street (attempted armed robbery)
A couple of Ohio residents traveled to Bartlett on May 2 to buy a vehicle advertised on Craigslist.com, and they were almost robbed at gunpoint.
They were told the seller’s granddaughter or niece would be at the Yates Street address to let them in. They waited in the driveway briefly and then drove to the intersection of Yates and Wood-lawn, where they called the seller.
The seller gave them different instructions, but nothing was adding up. The driver then saw an orange vehicle, possibly a Dodge Charger, pull up several feet behind them and park on the street. Two black males exited from the rear seat, broke into a run and approached the victims’ car from behind, splitting to cover both sides of the vehicle. The suspects had handguns and banged them on the car window, trying to smash the glass. The victims sped off and called 911.
The suspects were between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall, and both were of medium build. One wore a red hoodie and black pants, and the other wore a black hoodie and black pants.
